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Salma Hayek: Men are under too much pressure to be breadwinners
Hollywood actress, whose own husband has an estimated wealth of £35 billion, says it's ‘an exciting time’ to be a man
Expecting men to be successful breadwinners puts a weight on their shoulders, according to Salma Hayek, the Hollywood actress married to a billionaire.
“It’s an exciting time to be a woman but also to be a man. Confusion is always a great landscape for revolution and I think deep inside we put a lot of weight on men.
“The old thing that they have to be successful and responsible financially for the family – that’s a lot,” said Hayek, 56.
Her own husband is unlikely to feel crushed by the responsibility. Francois-Henri Pinault is the chief executive of Kering, the fashion conglomerate that owns luxury labels including Gucci, Bottega Veneta and Yves Saint Laurent.
Hayek was speaking to GQ Hype to promote her latest film, Magic Mike’s Last Dance, which is said to explore the changing nature of masculinity. She plays a wealthy socialite who hires a male stripper.
The male actors on set “were talking about waxing parts of the body that I really didn’t want to hear about, but it was very refreshing. Before, it would have been seen badly if they’d spent too much time on their bodies or were vain,” she said.
The actress said she was typecast for years as a “sexy” actress, before finally landing comedy roles in her 40s.
“I was typecast for a long time – my entire life I wanted to do comedy and people wouldn’t give me comedies,” she said.
“They said, ‘You’re sexy, so you’re not allowed to have a sense of humour’ … not only are you not allowed to be smart, but you were not allowed to be funny in the ‘90s.
“I was sad at the time, but now here I am doing every genre, in a time in my life where they told me I would have expired – that the last 20 years I would have been out of business. So I’m not sad, I’m not angry; I’m laughing.”
She added: “I’m at a place in my life where I don’t think my sexuality is the only thing that’s appreciated any more. But if it was, I wouldn’t care, because I’ve built enough respect around me from the people that really matter that I feel seen beyond that.”
Hayek and Pinault married in 2009 and Bloomberg currently estimates his worth at more than £35 billion. The actress said in 2021: “When I married him, everybody said, ‘It’s an arranged marriage, she’s marrying him for the money.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, whatever’ … we are strong in love.”
The full feature is available online at GQ Hype.